Railroad-track construction.



W. H. MORGAN.

RAILROAD TRACK CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION I'ILED JAN.31, 1913.

1,072,761. Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

[N VEN T OR WITNESSES WILLIAM HENRY MORGAN, or ALLIANCE, onro.

RAILROAD-TRACK CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept.9, 191 3.

Application filed January 31, 1913. Serial No. 745,396.

' To all when?) it may concern:

"Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. Mon- GAN, of Alliance, in the county ofI Stark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railroad- Track Construction; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to makeand use the same.

My invention relates to railroad track construction, and is animprovement on the invention disclosed in Patent No. 1,026,106 grantedto W. V. Hartzell and myself May 14th, 1912. In the above patent, therails.

are supported on alternately arranged Z shape and straight metal ties,the rails resting on the parallel member of the Z shaped tie andcrossing the straight ties at right angles, there being no connectionbetween the two sets of ties other than the rails which are. secured toboth.

The object of this invention is to provide means whereby the straightties'help support the Z-shaped ties, and also the joint in the rails.

A further object is to connect all the ties in series so as to stiflenthe whole structure and prevent any turning movement of the ties.

' In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a section of atrack showing the connection between the ties and also showing onerailin place; Fig. 2 is a view in plan; Fig. 3 a view in side elevation andFig. 4 a view in end elevation of one of the Z-shaped ties; Fig. 5 is aview of one of the straight ties and Fig. 6 is a View in sectionlongitudinally through one of the cushion.

plates, rail chair and rail supporting member of a Z-shaped tie.

' 1 represents the Z-shaped ties and 2 the straight ties, both made ofmetal and substantially I-shape in cross section, with their baseflanges wider thantheir top flanges,

and bent downwardly at opposite side of the web or body of the tie intoinverted Vtorm. With this shape of base flange, a load on the ties,causes the ballast to pack under them and hold them solidly immediatelyunder or more cushion plates orseats 3, spot, or

7 line welded, or riveted or otherwise secured to the top flange of therail supporting members of the tie. The ends of these plates are bentupwardly and then horizontally to form seats or supports for the chairsor gage plates 4, and the extreme ends are turned downwardly to formstops, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, for the spring clamps 5 which lookthe parts together. The long axes of these cushion plates 3 extend inthe direction of the length of the rail supporting members of the ties1, and are such height that when the chair orgage plate 4 is seatedthereon, the depending flanges 6 of the latter, will terminate above thetop of the tie, and act as a cushion or yielding support for the rail.The straight ties 2 are also provided with the cushion plates or seats3, which extend transversely of said ties as shown in Fig. 5, and are ofcourse in line with the cushion seats on the parallel rail supportingmembers of the Z- shaped ties.

The chairs or gage plates 4 are substantially as shown in my Patent1,026,108 granted May 14th, 1912 except that they are longer and eachcomprises a body having depending flanges 6 and upwardly projectingflanges 7 at its side edges.

The ties 1 and 2 are alternately arranged so that one straight tie isintermediate two Z-shaped ties, and they are so placed as to leave butlittle clearance between the ties.

Each chair or gage plate 4 is of a length suflicient to extendapproximately the length of the rail supporting members of the ties 1,and beyond the free ends of said members, so as to engage and rest on aseat 3 on the tie 2 as shown in Fig. 1, so that each chair or gage plateis supported on one rail supporting member of tie 1, and also on thestraight tie 2 adjacent the free end of said rail supporting member. Itwill therefore be seen that one chair rests at one end on the cushionseat secured to one'rail supporting member of a Z-shaped tie, and atitsoth'er end on the cushion seat on the straight tie adjacent the freeend of said member, and the other chair rests on the cushionseats on theother arm of said Z- shaped tie, and on the cushion seat on the straighttie adjacent said free end, so that each Z-shaped tie is connected tothe straight tie at each side thereof, and each straight tie isconnected to the two adjacent Z-shaped ties. The depending flanges 6 ofeach chair or gage plated overhang and bear agamst the side edges of theraised seats of the chair, so that by reversing the position of thechair, end for end, the rail 8, the base flange of which rests betweenis sustained laterally by said flanges 7, may be adjusted toward itscompanion rail to compensate for wear.

The chairs are grooved on the underside to fit the cushion seats, whilethe groove in the upper side of the chair is adapted for a rail of aparticular size, hence when it is desired to change from a lighter to aheavier rail, or vice versa, it is only necessary to change the chairs.

The parts above described are locked together by the spring clamps 5,each of which is substantially U-shape. The upper end of each clampbears against the top flange of the chairs, and overhangs the baseflange of the rail, without actual contact therewith but sufficientlyclose to hold the rail in position, while the lower end of the clamprests in rear of a rib 10 on the armor plate 11 which is supportedagainst the underside of the cushion seat 3, as shownin Fig. 6.

The clamps 5 above referred to, are preferably made of hard tough andfinely grained steel or alloy, of a size sufficient to hold the chairsor gageplates on their cushion seats, and also prevent any undue ortilting movement of the rail on its plates. These clamps may be insertedand driven on endWise in the direction of the length of the chairs, orthey may be sprung on over the side edge of the base flange of the rail.7 NVhile in some instances it may be. pre ferred to have the uppermembers of the clamps bear directly on the base flange of the rail, Ihave in the present instance shown a slight clearance between the top ofthe base flange of the rail and the free end of the clamp, so as topermit the rail to have a slight vertical movement under a rolling loadwithout disturbing the tie in the ballast. The rails are thereforepreferably loosely seated on the chairs or gage plates, but as theresultant of the wheel pressure always falls within the bases of therails, the only pressure to which the rail is subjected, other thandownward,

in an outward one which is taken care of by the side flanges on thechairs or gage plates, hence there is theoretically, no tendency for therails to tip,

but as the ends of the clamps overhang the base flanges of the rails,and are only removed therefrom a limited distance, tipping of the rails,to anything like a dangerous extent would be absolutely prevented by theclamps.

With this construction, the straight ties help support the railsupporting members of the Z-shaped ties, and as all the ties areconnected in series, the whole structure is stiffened and thepossibility of any change in relative position of any one of the ties isprevented. Again with this arrangement the joints of the rails will besupported by two ties, instead of by one as might be the case where theties are not connected.

It is evident that many slight changes might be resorted to in therelative arrangement of parts shown and described without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my supporting chairs extending from one tie tothe other, the said chairs having downwardly projecting flanges tooverhang parts of two ties and upwardly projecting flanges to engage theside edges of the base flanges of the rail, and means for securing the"chairs and rails to the ties.

2. The combination of alternately arranged Z-shape and straight metalties each having seats projecting above the top faces of the ties, railsupporting chairs extending from one tie to the other and resting onseats on both ties, the said chairs having downwardly projecting flangesto overhang the seats on the ties, and upwardly projecting flanges toengage the side edges of the base flanges of the rails, and means'forsecuring the parts together.

8. The combination of alternately arranged Z-shape and straight metalties, rail supporting chairs extending from one tie 115 to the other,the said chairs having downwardly projecting flanges to overhang partsof two ties and upwardly projecting flanges to engage the side edges ofthe base flanges of the rails, and spring clamps for securing thechairsand rails to the ties.

4. The combination of alternately arranged Z-shape and straight metalties each having seats projecting above the top faces of the ties, railsupporting chairs extending from one tie to the other and resting onseats on both ties, the said chairs having downwardly projecting flangesto overhang the seats on the ties, and upwardly projecting flanges toengage the side edges of the base flanges of the rails, and flexiblemeans for fastening the chairs and rails to said seats.

5. The combination of alternately arranged Z-shape and straight metalties, cushion seats secured to the top surfaces of both sets of ties,rail supporting chairs each resting on the seats on one rail supportingmember of a Z-shape tie and on the seat on the next adjacent straighttie, the said chair having downwardly projecting flanges to engage thesides of the seats, and upwardly projecting flanges to engage the sideedges of the base flanges of the rails, and means for securing thechairs and rails to the seats.

6. The combination of alternately arranged Z-shape and straight metalties,

cushion seats secured to the top surfaces of both sets of ties, railsupporting chairs each resting on the seats on one rail supportingmember of a Z-shape tie and on the seat on the next adjacent straighttie, the said chair having downwardly projecting flanges to engage thesides of the seats, and upwardly pro ecting fiahges to engage the sideedges of the base flanges of the rails, and spring clamps for securingthe chairs and rails to the cushion seats.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM HENRY MORGAN.

Witnesses: r

C. R. RICHARDS, N. C. FETTERS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

